Ultimately, we do need to do what works best for us as individual families, but I definitely think that there are parents among co-sleepers and or rockers and or 4 am feeders (of babies older than a year) that are doing their kids a disservice. And, I would bet that these are some of the folks referenced to in this study.
plumber san jose
This does not mean that all co-sleepers are negatively impacting their kids, it simply means that parents do the best they can and sometimes their best doesn’t quite work right. The same I am sure could be said of “tough love parents” or just your average “non-co-sleeping family.” I also think it is important to keep in mind that a study on childrens’ sleep should possibly be taken with a grain of salt, locksmith san jose as so many factors can contribute to the results outside of simple “sleeping practices.” Diet, naps, atmosphere and so much more go into healthy night time sleep that I think ultimately what this study

Thank goodness for Dr. Sears!

And I find your statement about the mother’s need for closeness to perpetuate certain unhelpful stereotypes. I am overjoyed at any sign my children show of independence–I’m just not pushing independence on infants.

As to your second point, no one is suggesting that anyone not publish a scientific study. This is not a medical journal. This is a popular magazine that chose to pick one sleep study over the others available, without indication as to the methodology or providing a counterbalancing viewpoint. Asking for some objectivity in discussing infant sleep is hardly censorship.

I will admit, though, that my kids do sleep better/longer when they aren’t next to me (as babies). But when they are toddlers and young kiddos and they end up in my bed they sleep fine. It’s Mama with the knee in her back that doesn’t. HA!

I don’t let my kids cry it out, though. Co-sleeping or not, I think that’s CRUEL and hurtful and makes me want to cry thinking about it. A baby for heavens sake! A baby! They aren’t being spoiled because you pick them up when they cry.

UGH!

And this, “But my informal observation is that among friends who co-sleep, both parents and baby tend to have an extended period of sleep problems.” Anecdotes do not equal hard data.

Are the parents you know choosing to co-sleep having informed themselves of the benefits or are they co-sleeping out of exauhstion because “tough love” wasn’t working? If the parents are complaining about their sleep arrangements, then my guess would be the latter. And in that case what’s to say it wasn’t the CIO or “tough love” that caused the sleep problems and not the co-sleeping that followed?